


Lavender

by minghaolet



Series: Smile Flower [1]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: How Do I Tag, M/M, Multi, its about flowers, just a heads up, mingyu n minghao are in an established relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-25
Updated: 2018-02-08
Packaged: 2019-03-08 21:34:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13467003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/minghaolet/pseuds/minghaolet
Summary: Lavender, valued for its physical beauty, soothing fragrance, and healing properties.[Minghao really likes flowers. He also really likes Mingyu and Jeonghan.]





	1. Bloom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow hello. this is my first fic on here so ???? yikes,
> 
> a special thanks to dee, who sits on the google doc with me as i write all of this, helping me to not drive myself mad with the tiny flower details.

It was no secret to any of his close circle of friends, but Minghao loves flowers. They’re one of the only things he cares about. From their beauty alone to the language behind them, he finds the whole plant world magical.

Thus, assigning flowers to those in his life comes as no surprise. Actually, if you asked anyone around him, they would probably be more shocked if he _didn’t_ do what he calls “the weird flower thing”.

“The weird flower thing”, which he still hasn’t come up with a better name for, takes time and effort. Much more time and effort than he would willingly admit to most. The only one who knows just how much time, effort, and importance this is to him is Seokmin, his best friend since he moved from China.

Seokmin was the first person he assigned a flower to in his new town. It wasn’t nearly as much effort for his flower as it is for some, he knew it almost immediately when he laid eyes on the slightly older boy. A smile brighter than the summer sun. A positive outlook on all the challenges Minghao had been facing at the time. An overall happy, bright person.

Dandelion. It was obvious in his mind, and even after all the years of growing together, Seokmin’s flower had never changed. In fact, he thinks Seok had grown even further into his Dandelion label the closer they got. Always knowing how to talk Minghao down when he was in a constant spiral had become one of his best traits, at least in Hao’s opinion. He was wise beyond his years, and for that Minghao was forever grateful.

He was forever grateful for all four of the boys sat around the lunch table with him. He would never forget when he met any of them, how far their flower “personalities” had grown since he first spoke to them.

Soonyoung, sat directly across from him, had started in Minghao’s book as a Narcissus. Egotistical and narcissistic, it had seemed at the time that all he ever thought of was himself. He considers himself an inspiration to everyone around him, and while he has grown to be one to Minghao, he would never tell him.

As he slowly got closer to Minghao, much to the latter’s dismay, Minghao had realized that maybe Soonyoung had more to offer than his overly large head. The day Minghao finally realized it is the day that Soonyoung became a Daffodil. A creative inspiration that Minghao would never want to replace, always ready to give and accept forgiveness. Soonyoung isn’t stupid, he knows he’s an egotistical asshole at times, but he also knows he has other traits to make up for it.

Minghao gave him this flower of forgiveness, especially since back home it means good fortune, not that he would tell Soonyoung that he’s going places with that creativity of his. He decided to get back at the cold start to their friendship by letting Soonyoung figure it out himself, though there’s no doubt that it would probably fuel his ego.

Sat next to Soonyoung was Junhui, laughing at something that Minghao hadn’t caught. He was Freesia, and Minghao didn’t think that would change anytime soon. As soon as the two met, much like Seokmin, Minghao had a few flowers in mind. As they grew closer, it became obvious that one had suited him better than the other.

Jun is always the first to offer his help in anything Minghao may need. Always a shoulder to cry on, an ear to listen. Minghao isn’t afraid to say that he can often trust Jun more than he can trust himself. Jun was definitely the sweetest of the friend group, though Seokmin would always argue in his own direction.

Finally, sat right next to him, holding his hand and gently squeezing it as if to pull Minghao back to earth, was Mingyu. Their history wasn’t any longer or shorter than the history between Minghao and any of his other friends, though it certainly felt that way.

No one could look at Mingyu and deny his beauty; it simply wasn’t possible. This was the first thing Minghao noticed, though it wasn’t his fault. Immediately he had called Mingyu a Calla Lily, his beauty too superior to ignore.

Of course, Minghao isn’t a “beauty is the only thing that matters” type. He never has been and never will be, which is why he was so overjoyed as he started to learn more about Mingyu. As in most cases, his flower choice wasn’t incorrect, and he had been just as joyed then as he had with every correct flower choice he made.

Mingyu was like a child, of sorts. Not in a bad way, no, he could cook and clean and completely hold his own, much better than the rest of them, actually. No, Mingyu had the light and air of a child, an innocence and purity that only came with youth. Instead of finding it annoying as it should be, it had been endearing, and Minghao could never shake the beautiful Calla that had attached himself to his side.

As Minghao slowly came back to terms with the conversation happening around him, he returned the blinding smile Mingyu was giving him, and squeezed his hand back. He glanced across the table at Soonyoung and Jun, arguing over which song would have better choreography, had someone ever made one.

“What are your plans for the afternoon?” Seokmin questioned, and Minghao simply shrugged and looked at Mingyu, who had shrugged just as fast. “Wow, you guys are a real hoot.”

“Hey, we’re perfectly content just hanging around at home,” Mingyu replied, taking a bite of the sandwich that _Minghao_ had asked him for. Why was he eating Minghao’s sandwich and not his own?

Snatching the food from his boyfriend’s hands, Minghao started speaking the opposite of what Mingyu had replied, “actually, I kinda wanted to ditch Mingyu today. Maybe he can learn to eat his own food if I’m not around for him to steal from.”

Mingyu mumbled as he picked up his own sandwich, surprisingly taking a bite rather than fighting for the one he had already been eating.  
“I was gonna hang out at the arcade, if you wanna come with,” Seokmin was speaking with a mouth full of food, but Minghao decided to ignore it. No amount of scolding would ever help reverse the habit he’s had for years, and Minghao was finally starting to accept it.

Minghao nodded as he finished what was left of his sandwich, and slightly tuned back into the, now slightly more heated, discussion amongst his other friends. As he was about to start defending Jun, since he was right _this time_ no matter how much Soonyoung wanted to deny it, a light flash caught his eye.

Turning to follow the pop of color, his eyes landed on a group of boys. The pastel yellow distraction sat and laughed loudly at something being said, and the sound rang beautifully in Minghao’s ears. From this distance, there could be a multitude of flowers for this one person.

Was he a Lilac? Poppy? Lavender or Azalea or Periwinkle? Minghao couldn’t be sure, but he wanted to find out. Needed to find out. He glanced at Mingyu and his other friends before returning his gaze to the mystery boy in yellow and his friends, all of them still laughing.

Minghao hated how entranced he was by the movements of the boy. How much his outer beauty affected the flowers that flowed into Minghao’s brain upon the first sighting. He hated how much he wanted to get to know the boy. He wanted the early friendship of the Periwinkle, the beauty of the Poppy, the homelike memories of the Azalea, the first love of the Lilac, the devotion of the Lavender.

He wanted it all and he _despised_ it.

As his friends all got up from the table, past disagreements and playful nudges forgotten, Minghao followed in a blind daze. He squeezed Mingyu’s hand once more, needing the returned gesture to keep him in this world. He buried himself into the older boy’s side, loving the feeling of safety he was granted as Mingyu wrapped his arm around his shoulders and kissed the top of his head.

As they moved further and further from the park they had chosen for lunch that day, further and further from the brilliant yellow distraction, Minghao had tried pounding into his head that he had all he needed with Mingyu. Minghao wanted nothing but Mingyu, but he knew his heart was bigger than that. That he could fit more than one person there the same way he could fit Mingyu.

He just hoped Mingyu wouldn’t mind, much as he told him when this had all first started.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you enjoyed the first chapter!!! minghao/jeonghan is barely existent, and minghao/jeonghan/mingyu is unheard of, i guess. but i'm trying to change that!!
> 
> please let me know what you think, let me know if there's anything silly or something doesn't make sense?
> 
> i'm simply a flower fanatic, but i did put quite a bit of time and effort into the flowers i chose for the boys in this fic, and though some don't directly correlate to real life, a couple of them do! if you think you have a better flower for any of them, please let me know i would love to hear your thoughts!!


	2. Flowering

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mission: start

It had been a few days since the first sighting of the beautiful boy with the beautiful laugh in the beautiful yellow shirt. Minghao couldn’t seem to get the boy out of his head, no matter how hard he tried. No matter how many new recipes he helped Mingyu make, or favorite movies they watched together, Minghao would always end up spaced out.  
This had resulted in a batch of burnt cookies, but Mingyu decided not to press the situation.

Eventually, around a week after the one and only encounter, Mingyu had enough. Why was Minghao acting so _weird_? What had gotten into their boy of good luck? Why was he not talking to Mingyu, Seokmin or Jun at least? What happened in the span of a week to completely flip Minghao on his head?

After settling onto the couch next to Minghao and handing him the bottle of water he asked for, Mingyu cleared his throat. “Minghao, we need to talk.”

It took a few moments for Minghao to register the seriousness in Mingyu’s voice, but when he finally did, his smile faded. “What is it?” His voice cracked halfway through the sentence, and he took a sip of water with shaky hands. Mingyu rarely sounded _this_ serious, had he done something wrong? He couldn’t recall anything that bad, burnt cookies weren’t the worst thing in the whole world, right?

“I’m worried about you. Seok, Jun, Soonyoung… We’re all worried. You’ve been acting pretty strange lately, and you haven’t come to any of us with the situation which makes it all the more weird.”

“Oh… I thought I had done something wrong,” Minghao spoke, his voice more stable but still hidden behind a nervous chuckle. He cursed his usual open, advice seeking nature in this moment. He could usually deal with things like this on his own, but it should seem that this time, he wasn’t getting away with it. “I’m fine, really.”

Mingyu looked skeptical, but nodded his head. He knew Minghao enough to know that when he was ready, he would come to him for advice. He just hoped it would be sooner rather than later. Smiling, he spoke, “hey, the guys are heading to the park again today, do you wanna go? The fresh air may be good for both of us.”

“I would love to!” Minghao exclaimed, perking up immediately at the mention of the park. The park where he first saw _him_. The cause of his current heartache and head fog.

Minghao scrambled to his feet, dropping the water bottle in the process. He dashed to their shared bedroom and threw on some clothes, his favorite jeans and a sleeveless shirt he was pretty sure belongs to Mingyu. He slipped on his shoes and dashed back out to the living room, standing excitedly at the door.

“Well, are you coming?” He questioned, as he saw Mingyu still sitting on the couch, staring at the space Minghao had once occupied. He slowly nodded his head and held up his finger before walking back to their bedroom to get some proper park clothes on.

Minghao impatiently rocked on his feet, glancing down at an invisible watch on his wrist every so often. Why is Mingyu taking so long? Does he not realize how excited Minghao is to go to _that park_? As he was about to stomp down the hall and start yelling about Mingyu taking forever, the boy walked out of their room on his own. Definitely dressed in only clothing that belongs to him, unlike Minghao.

“It’s about time, I was about to send in a search team,” Hao stated, quickly turning on his heels and yanking open the door, missing the roll of Mingyu’s eyes.

The walk to the park was leisurely, much to Minghao’s dismay. He kept trying to innocently move them along faster, but whenever his feet would pick up, a tug on his hand from Mingyu is all it took for him to fall back into place. Eventually he gave up on speed walking his way there and settled into a comfortable pace with Mingyu at his side. They said nothing aside from the occasional comment on how nice the sun feels, or how the brisk breeze left them feeling new again.

As the park’s entrance came into view, Minghao’s heart rate became out of control. He cursed at it, because of course what are the chances of seeing _him_ here? The first time was a miracle on its own, and while Minghao may be a sunflower of good luck, he was no miracle worker.

Minghao saw a bright flash of blue in the distance, a scream following soon after. He had no doubt that Soonyoung had attacked Jun for telling him his opinion was respected but still wrong. It isn’t the first time it’s happened, and certainly won’t be the last, and the fact made a wide grin settle on his face. Mingyu decided that since he could see, and hear, their other friends in the distance, it was _finally_ a good idea to speed up, and for that Minghao was thankful. As much as he loved going for walks, the park is quite a distance from their shared apartment.

As the pair slowly approached their, now dog piled, friend group, they glanced at each other. A small smirk graced Minghao’s lips as he nodded ever so slightly to Mingyu before dashing to the small pile of boys, screaming as he fell on top of Seokmin, who was on top of Soonyoung, who was on top of a very unfortunately placed Jun. His laughter strangled itself into a wheeze as Mingyu finally flopped over on the top of the pile.

Jun was coughing and sputtering, pounding on the ground in what the other boys could only assume was a tap out. Reluctantly they all got up, one by one, leaving Jun to flip to his back, gasping for air, his eyes narrowed at Soonyoung. Soonyoung just flashed one of his prettiest, most sarcastic smiles as he walked back to the table they had seemingly claimed for themselves. Water bottles and half gone Starbucks drinks were scattered about the table, and Minghao took a sip of one since there was obviously no distinction as to which belonged to who.

“So, what got you trapped at the bottom this time, Junnie?”

Jun narrowed his eyes at Soonyoung even further as he spoke, “I disagreed on the best Kool Aid flavor.”

Mingyu’s eyes widened as he pounded on Minghao’s back, the latter choking on the sip he had just taken of his self proclaimed drink. Once he could finally breathe again, Minghao couldn’t stop the laughter that flowed out of his body. Even as his sides began to hurt and his eyes watered, his laughter wasn’t dying down.

That is, until he heard a familiar sound. He almost immediately quieted down and perked up, trying to find the source of the sound. His friends seemed to not notice, or at least not comment, as they continued a new, not as violent, discussion about Kool Aid flavors.

Minghao couldn’t for the life of him find the source of the beautiful laugh, no matter how hard he looked. He did his best to discreetly turn around, trying to not alarm his friends of his diverted attention. He craned his neck slightly more before he found the source.

The beautiful blonde from a week ago, with seemingly the same group of friends, same melodious laugh. The only difference was his clothing, and even that wasn’t a huge change. Replacing the pastel yellow button up he had worn a week ago was a pink and yellow sweater, the sleeves rolled up undoubtedly due to the light spring heat.

Mingyu noticed the light smile on his boyfriend’s face, directed away from the conversation and once again in his own world. He laced their fingers together and tugged Minghao’s attention back to their own group.

“You okay? You seem a little distracted,” Mingyu sounded worried. Minghao hated it. However, instead of elaborating, he simply nodded his head.  
Seokmin knew. It was all the same signs as when Minghao had first set his sights on Mingyu. The first encounter, the first time he had heard his laugh. Seokmin knew, he saw all the signs, and Minghao knew it. He hated that too.

“Who is it this time, Hao?”

Actually, Minghao hadn’t hated it. Not until right now, in this very moment. He wriggled slightly, his face flushing as he mumbled a light _“no one”_ under his breath. As he glanced up at all of his friends staring at him, he knew that no one believed him.

“What’s his flower?” Jun gently prodded, a soft look on his face. He knew how to get Minghao to open up about things that aren’t necessarily problems, so to speak. He knew better than the other three.

“I’m not sure yet,” Minghao started, his voice quiet. “At first i thought maybe he could be Lilac. A reminder of first loves. Or maybe he could be a Poppy, he’s certainly beautiful enough, at least. Periwinkle? Early friendships, everlasting love, full potentials. Lavender. Serenity, grace, purity. The last one is Azalea, abundance of beauty, elegance and developing passion… He could be any of them and I wouldn’t know. I wouldn’t know, even though I want to.”

Minghao slapped his hand over his mouth, embarrassed that he just went on a very slow, painful, drawn out explanation of the weird flower thing to every single one of his friends, to his boyfriend. He hated doing that to people, knowing it doesn’t interest everyone in the same way it interests him. However, this time it felt good. He felt relieved.

Soonyoung was the first to snap out of the awe the whole group fell into while listening to Minghao speak. His face cracked into a huge smile and he clapped, speaking in a whispered yell, “operation get Minghao into that boy’s life starts NOW!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey wow look i'm back, this is ever so slightly longer than the first part and i definitely think every chapter i write will just barely be longer than the previous, but i kinda like that.
> 
> i have a playlist on youtube that's just both versions of "we gonna make it shine" and that was on repeat the whole time i was writing, if that matters to anyone
> 
> tell me what you thought, if you'd like!! i would love to hear how i'm doing!


	3. Poppy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He fell, fast.

After Minghao spilled his entire heart by means of flowers, the boys had made it their own personal mission to get him closer and closer to “park boy”, as they now call him. Even Mingyu was joining in on the shenanigans, which made Minghao’s heart soar the _tiniest_ bit. But only a tiny bit.

Since that day in the park, the group had spent every day at their picnic table. After two weeks of information collecting in the spring sun, Soonyoung and Jun had devised a calendar, of sorts.

 **“Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday- Late morning/early afternoon**  
**Monday, Thursday- Late afternoon**  
**Friday- Absent”**

Though Soonyoung’s writing was harder to read than Jun or Seokmin’s, Minghao was able to decipher what it said easy enough. It’s funny that his friends would take turns just hanging around the park even when the rest had class, work or other plans, but it was also endearing. Creepy? Probably, but Minghao didn’t want to think about that.

“Okay cool, there’s that, but what am I supposed to do with it?” Minghao questioned, looking up from the messy scrawl on the sticky note.

“What do you mean ‘what am i supposed to do with it’? You take this information and you get your boy!” Soonyoung exclaimed excitedly, slightly bouncing on the couch. It was rare that they would meet at someone’s apartment, especially with the weather improving so fast, but this was considered _“classified information”_ , so Seokmin and Soonyoung insisted they meet up at their place.

Seokmin rolled his eyes and went into further detail. “What he _means_ is you skip class at some point and go to the park alone when you usually wouldn’t be there. There aren’t many ‘regulars’ or whatever you wanna call it, so you should stick out like a sore thumb if you’re alone after he’s seen you there with us _at least_ a couple times.”

“Okay, say I were to do this,” Minghao took a breath and furrowed his eyebrows, “frankly, terrible idea. What then? I just sit there alone like a weirdo? I’m not you guys.”

“Well, you’re right about that,” Jun spoke with a smirk on his face while staring at Soonyoung and Seokmin’s equally offended facial expressions. “But no, you obviously wouldn’t just sit there. You do something that would make him need to assist you. Say, get a frisbee stuck in a tree or trip and fall into the little pond.”

Minghao’s mouth dropped open, shocked by the stupidity that just came out of Jun’s mouth. He would expect this from Soonyoung or Seokmin, maybe. Heck even Mingyu, sometimes. They always have the best intentions, just not necessarily the best execution. But Jun? He expected more than lonely frisbee and park pond swimming. What weirdo plays frisbee alone? How would he trip and fall into the pond when he always kept a reasonable distance? There weren’t that many trees at the park, how would he manage to get it stuck in one, even if he was trying? How on earth would this mystery boy even be able to help him with a frisbee stuck in a tree?

Minghao was seemingly most baffled by the frisbee idea.

“ _Or_ instead of making my boyfriend look like a fool with your stupid ideas, he could just try to talk to the guy. Maybe ask him and his friends if they could add another for the time being so he isn’t alone. I mean, come on Jun, who plays frisbee alone?” Mingyu, being the voice of reason he can be, on occasion, saved Minghao’s life once more.

Minghao planted huge kisses on his boyfriend’s cheeks, exclaiming, “you’re a genius! A Lifesaver!” between every one. The smile on his face was starting to hurt, but he didn’t care. Although his friends are a bunch of idiots sometimes, he couldn’t help but love them all even more with each passing day.  
They ended the day with pizza and a marathon of movies that make them all collectively gag.

✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿

The following Tuesday was the day Minghao chose to skip class. It had been decided that it would be the easiest to catch up in, and it also gave him that extra day to gather his courage after the weekend, because he had definitely not been putting it off for as long as his friends would allow. Not at all.

He arrived at the park around noon, trying to fall into the center of the supposed usual time stamp of park boy’s attendance. His hands were sweaty as he followed the path into the park, tempted to take a seat at his usual place. It was comfortable there. Normal.  
**Safe.**

Though his idea was good, his execution was far less so, causing him to stumble and trip over his own feet on the way to the usual table. He felt himself falling before he realized it was happening, and a panicked yelp left his mouth.

“Woah, are you okay?”

Minghao’s head whipped up from where he was staring at the ground, on his hands and now slightly sore knees. Identifying the source of the voice was easy, and he felt his face heat up as he turned his head to stare up at the other boy.

“Uh, y-yeah I’m, yeah, I’m fine,” he replied, his voice quivering. He silently cursed himself for tripping both over his own feet and his own words.

The boy looked skeptical as he held a hand out to Minghao. It took much longer than it should’ve for Minghao to process that he was being offered help, and he cursed at Jun for his plan to sort of work, even if there was no water involved. After staring for a few more seconds, Minghao finally took the hand being offered to him and yanked himself up off the ground.

Multiple things were noticed upon standing. First being that the boy’s skin was really soft. Really, really, _really_ soft. The second thing Minghao noticed was that the yellow he was so used to seeing had been replaced by a dark blue, though the material of the button up was seemingly light, much as the yellow one. Thirdly, and finally, he noticed that the boy was even prettier up close. His blonde hair complimented his gentle features perfectly, and Minghao couldn’t believe he was this close.

Lastly, after his other observations had gone through his head at least four times each, he noticed that they were still holding hands. He had never let go. Oh. Oh no.

Minghao dropped the other's hand like it was suddenly hot to the touch, his face reddening further as he muttered “sorry” under his breath. He ducked his head and yelled at himself in his head, _stop blushing you fool, what are you doing,_ but the other boy didn’t seem to mind as a smile grew on his face. The smile quickly turned from a smile to a chuckle, and from there into a full blown laugh. The laugh that had gotten Minghao so caught up in this to begin with.

“It’s okay! It’s okay, I promise. I’m Jeonghan, how are your knees?” His laugh subsided as he spoke, the smile still present even with the concern growing in his voice. Minghao was sure his face was warmer than the sun at that point.

“It’s nice to meet you, Jeonghan. I’m Minghao, and they’re fine, thank you. Thanks for coming over, I don’t even know what I tripped over…” Minghao trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck. He recognized the fact that there was a small ache in his knees, but he hoped that if he ignored it, it would stop. He also recognized the butterflies in his stomach when he spoke Jeonghan’s name, but he hoped those would stop, too.

“It’s no problem! I was just taking a walk, I couldn’t ignore someone who fell over in the middle of the park,” Jeonghan’s smile somehow grew even wider, and Minghao felt like he was dying. “That’s a cute name you got there, Minghao. I like it.”

“O-oh, thank you, m-my parents picked it out,” Minghao spoke before he thought and he smacked his hand over his mouth. Of course his parents had picked it, he’d had it since he was born, who else would’ve picked it? What he really wanted to do was tell Jeonghan that his name was pretty, too, but no. He went and fucked it. Again.

This wasn’t going nearly as well as he had hoped.

Jeonghan just laughed and shook his head, fiddling with his fingers as if he wanted to say something. They stood in slight awkward silence for a few moments, neither of them knowing what to do next.

“Hey, do you… Do you wanna finish my walk with me? I usually just hang out alone, but I would like to maybe spend some more time with you,” Jeonghan spoke. Before Minghao could even open his mouth, he rushed out, “only if you want to, of course. No pressure or anything…”

Minghao simply nodded, and he could see Jeonghan relax again, at least physically. Minghao wondered if Jeonghan’s stomach was going as crazy as his was, if his palms were equally as sweaty. Then again, Minghao wondered everything about Jeonghan, so maybe these new additions didn’t count for much.

They walked in silence for a long time, just enjoying each other's company, however awkward it may have felt at certain moments. They circled the park quite a few times, but Minghao had stopped paying attention after the third, opting to pay attention to Jeonghan instead.

He noticed how Jeonghan would put his hands in the pockets of his jeans, only to pull them out again a few moments later. Noticed the way he flicked the parted blonde bangs out of his face, said bangs falling exactly where they had been before.

Jeonghan had been going on and on about the ideas he had for a room he had to design in one of his classes, the name of which Minghao had completely missed in favor of watching how the boy’s eyes lit up as he spoke of the different colors that he would use, despite them not typically being used together. He had apparently also been designing patterns for throw pillows and blankets, and though it was a strange hobby, Minghao found it endearing and oddly fitting. The blonde had mentioned how his teacher would look through his sketchbook and praise the designs despite them being purely for fun.

After what must have been the fifteenth loop on the track in the park, Jeonghan got a phone call. Politely excusing himself, which is more than any of his friends would’ve done at any stage of their relationship, he moved away slightly. Minghao sat in the grass nearby as he waited for the call to end, chuckling as he spotted the first Dandelion of the season. Seokmin truly was with him in every important moment of his life, this one included, it should seem.

Once the call was finished, Jeonghan jogged slightly to reach Minghao where he had perched on the ground, excusing himself in a quick manner, muttering about being late for some other plan. He apologized profusely for having to leave, which Minghao shook off with a smile and a light motion translating roughly to “go”.

Jeonghan smiled gratefully and dashed towards the park entrance, turning back only for a moment to wave before disappearing. Minghao assumed he would be heading somewhere in the city, and only hoped that it wasn’t something too important that the other was late for. As he started his own walk towards his apartment, the light smile wouldn’t leave his face.

The beauty that Jeonghan possessed. The crazy ideas he had that Minghao had definitely never heard of before, much less seen carried out. The praise and success he had in all of his designs.  
_Poppy._


	4. Periwinkle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Friendship comes easy enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (hello welcome back i did read over this chapter five times at least but there might still be typos. if there is please excuse them or let me know, i am no typo magician, thank you)

As soon as Minghao shut the door to the apartment, Mingyu practically flew around the corner of their bedroom, tripping on nearly everything he possibly could. He attacked Minghao in hugs and kisses when he finally got to him, muttering as many _I missed you_ s as he could between all of the kisses.

“I missed you too,” Minghao replied, giggling and pushing Mingyu back after one final kiss. He couldn’t believe he was dating such a huge puppy but alas, he was, and though he was sometimes overwhelmed by the amount of hugs and kisses he was smothered with every time either of them walked through the door, he couldn’t say he hated it.

“So, how did it go? Did you see park boy, did you talk to him?”

Minghao made his way to the kitchen, ignoring Mingyu only in the sense that he wasn’t immediately answering all of his questions. He grabbed a water bottle and sat down on the couch, Mingyu eagerly following, obviously excited for Minghao’s recap of the day.

“It, well, it went, that’s for sure. I did see him and I _did_ talk to him. But I only did both of those things _after_ I completely wiped out in front of him. Didn’t even know he was there, and then **BOOM** , I’m on the ground and someone is yelling asking if I’m okay.”

Mingyu gave no response, at first. Minghao had assumed that he blanked out everything he said, not being as interested as he once thought. However, he knew Mingyu better than that, and by the slight flush that was arising on the other’s face, he knew that there would be an explosion of laughter in three… Two… One…

Mingyu’s hands flew to his mouth as he started giggling and eventually ended up on the floor, tears streaming down his face due to laughter. “Y-you fell! You tripped over nothing and completely,” his sentence paused as he sucked in air and began laughing again, “oh my GOD Hao, Jun was right! His plan fucking worked I can’t believe this!”

Minghao crossed his arms and rolled his eyes as he watched his large boyfriend flounder around on their small living room floor. His knees started aching as he playfully tapped his foot. “Are you quite finished?”

Mingyu nodded as he tried to force his laughter to stop, sitting up and wiping his eyes. He moved back onto the couch next to Minghao and cleared his throat. “Yes. Yes I am finished laughing. Please, continue with your story.”

Minghao nodded and rubbed at his knees before continuing. “So, anyway, I completely wiped out and he came running over to see if I was okay. Obviously I was so embarrassed and just. God, Gyu, I can’t believe I did that. But he asked if i was okay and helped me up, _god_ his skin is soft, and he told me his name is Jeonghan. Isn’t that the prettiest name you’ve ever heard? It fits him so well, his hair is so blonde and it somehow looks just as soft as his skin feels and it frames his face so perfect, Mingyu. Oh, oh, oh guess what! He told me that I have a cute name and he _likes_ it, Gyu, he likes it! Surely, if he likes my name, he can like the rest of me too, right?” Minghao took in a giant breath of air and gulped down some water. He could feel how his face was red, but he didn’t care in the moment. “I think he’s an interior design major. He was talking to me about some class he’s in, but I wasn’t paying attention to the major details because he looked so happy talking about it that I was so much more focused on how the walls of the room would be a pale peach and he would have an aqua accent chair because, and I quote, ‘you don’t see the colors matched often even though they work beautifully together.’ He was just so happy, his whole face lit up. He makes designs for throw pillows and blankets in his spare time, Gyu! _Throw pillows and blankets!_ ”

Minghao finished his long ranting and realized that he had been flailing his arms around as he spoke, only knowing because Mingyu was sat slightly further back than when he started. He grinned slightly, a form of apology, and drank some more water, hoping Mingyu would be okay with the way he was talking about the other boy. He still felt slightly bad talking to his boyfriend about his _crush_ , but he knew it would have happened eventually. So far, Mingyu still seemed pretty okay with the idea of there being more than the two of them, and for that he was thankful.

“You seem so happy, Hao. I know I laughed when you tripped, but I’m genuinely so happy about this. I know you have so much love to give, and I hope this Jeonghan guy will be able to handle and accept that much adoration. I certainly love it, and I hope he will too.”

Minghao’s heart swelled and he launched himself into Mingyu’s arms, yanking himself up into the other’s lap. He could feel tears pricking his eyes as he buried his head in Mingyu’s shoulder, inhaling the slight remanence of his body wash. He felt so silly, but he’s never felt so happy and lucky in his whole life. _Thanks, sunflower_.

“So, did you get his number? When are you guys gonna hang out?” Mingyu asked as he wiped a few tears off of Minghao’s face.

Minghao’s jaw dropped and he facepalmed slightly, realizing that in all of his excitement and then Jeonghan’s hurried exit, he hadn’t gotten the other’s number. He couldn’t believe himself. “He had to leave really fast, we ended up walking around the park too long and he ended up being late for something. I didn’t even think of the number thing."

“That’s okay! Just one more reason for us to go back to the park!” Mingyu exclaimed as he turned on the tv, flicking to an occasionally funny sitcom, settling down and getting comfy.

Later that night as the two got ready for bed, Minghao heard the small _ding_ of his phone, signalling that he had a message. He looked at Mingyu and they both shrugged because _who was trying to talk to him at this hour_? He picked up his phone and nearly dropped it again as he read the message.

_**Unknown Number**_  
_hey there minghao! i hope this isnt weird because there could be a multitude of things that make this weird, but i ran into one your friends this afternoon and asked them for your number, i really really hope thats okay. i had a lot of fun today, and i hope we can hang out again soon!  
\- jeonghan_

Minghao leapt in joy as Mingyu just stood there in confusion, watching his boyfriend type out a message at an even more rapid speed than usual.

_**♡ jeonghan ♡**_  
_not weird at all, altho im going to need the story on how you knew they were part of my life ;) ill see you soon jeonghan  
-minghao_

After he sent the message and climbed into bed next to Mingyu, sighing happily as he was scooped into slightly larger arms, he turned his head slightly to plant a kiss on Mingyu’s nose. “The number problem is no longer a problem.”

Mingyu simply smiled in return and kissed Minghao’s forehead before saying goodnight and falling asleep.

✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿✿

The next day started as it always does, so much so that Minghao had nearly forgotten the previous day’s events. It wasn’t until Mingyu was finishing the waffles and Minghao heard his phone ding from the bedroom that he remembered all that had happened. His face lit up and he dashed away from the kitchen, nearly running into the still slightly closed door. He heard Mingyu call out about being careful because he didn’t want to end up in the emergency room because of this guy, but Hao ignored it in favor of reading the message he had received.

_**♡ jeonghan ♡**  
good morning!! i hope this isnt weird either uhhh sorry im a little nervous but anyway i hope you slept well!! i was wondering if you wanted to hang out later today? i have class at 3:45 but before that im completely free…. and kinda bored and lonely……. but just lemme know :)_

“Mingyu!!! Jeonghan wants to hang out today! You have class at 11:10, right?” Minghao questioned, walking back into the kitchen. He opened his mouth for the bite of waffle Mingyu was offering him, and licked his lips as some of the syrup got on his chin. He pouted and wiped it off as Mingyu nodded in confirmation. “Perfect! Then you can do that, I’ll hang out with Jeonghan and maybe get the notes from class that I missed yesterday and then we’ll meet back up here! Deal? Deal, break!”

“Hao, you don’t have to confirm all your plans with me, I don’t own you. Just let me know that you’re gonna be gone and if i need to make dinner, you goof.”

Minghao skipped back to their room, and began getting dressed. “You know I love you a whole lot, right?” He shouted through the apartment, louder than usual since his head was currently shoved halfway through his hoodie. He didn’t frequently wear the pastel green hoodie he had chosen for the day, but he decided that maybe he could shake it up a little today. He raced back out to the kitchen after acquiring pants.

“I love you, too. And, hey, please eat these waffles. I didn’t slave away half of my morning only for you to _not_ eat them, jerk.” Mingyu murmured the end of the sentence, probably hoping Minghao wouldn’t hear. He did, but he simply stuck his tongue out at the older, completely unaffected by the loving jab. Sitting down at one of the stools by the counter, he ate the homemade waffles and watched Mingyu do the dishes. He would let small noises out of his mouth every now and then to let the chef know that his waffles were delicious, as usual.

Mingyu excused himself to get ready for class, leaving Hao alone with nothing but waffles and his thoughts. He was curious as to what Jeonghan had planned for the day, but he also wouldn’t mind if they just ended up at the park once more. Finishing his waffles, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and composed a reply to Jeonghan’s text.

_**♡ jeonghan ♡**  
that sounds great! what did you have in mind? im completely free today, just have to pick up some make up notes later on _

Satisfied, he got up to wash his own dishes and make himself a cup of tea to sip on until he left. Mingyu rushed out of their room and gave Minghao a quick kiss before dashing out the door, yelling about being late yet again. Mingyu’s Wednesday classes were on the other side of campus, even further from their apartment complex than most of Minghao’s. But Hao had loved the layout of the apartment, and even with the longer commute, the price had no competition in the other’s the two had looked at, so Mingyu had caved and let Minghao have what he wanted. Not that it was much different than any other time.

Minghao was shaken from his thoughts as the tea kettle started whistling at the same time that his phone went off. Overwhelmed by the amount of loud sounds, Minghao quickly turned off the stove, pouring the boiling water into his tea cup. He bashed the tea bag around a bit with a spoon before abandoning it momentarily to check his phone.

_**♡ gyu ♡**  
hey hey sorry, i just need you to check the bedside table for my wallet. i cant find it and im really hoping i managed to leave it at home rather than lost it somewhere in this huge ass mass of students fuck, hao why is EVERYONE late all on the same day???????_

_**♡ jeonghan ♡**  
im actually gonna take you somewhere! meet in the park at noon?_

Minghao’s his eyes rolled as his heart fluttered, the responses caused by reading the respective messages. He spotted Mingyu’s wallet easily upon walking into their room, and his eyes rolled once again. Hopefully Mingyu doesn’t get too hungry, he truly has nothing with him other than the clothes on his back.

Minghao downed his now cool tea before slipping his shoes on. He made sure to grab his own wallet before walking out the door.

_**♡ gyu ♡**  
yeah, its at home. how the hell did you manage to forget it? youre a mess, just like the rest of those late people but i still love you xoxo _

_**♡ jeonghan ♡**_  
_okay, sounds good! see you soon_

Minghao had a slight pep in his step as he made his way to the park, dismissing Mingyu’s response to his message. He knew he left slightly earlier than was really necessary, but he didn’t want to risk being late to his first date with Jeonghan. Was it even a date? Maybe he shouldn’t already be calling it a date.

Minghao sat in his usual spot at his usual picnic table trying to calm his nerves. He was perfectly fine until he arrived at the park, the thoughts of what this outing was considered seemingly eating his positive mentality from earlier. His hands were damp with sweat as he breathed in and out, calling himself silly, they’re just friends spending some time together, nothing weird about that, right?

“Minghao, hey!” He heard, his head whipping to the side. He realized that his time of contemplation had run out as Jeonghan began to approach him. He looked cute, an oversized red and white striped shirt hanging on his frame. His sleeves were rolled up once again, and Minghao couldn’t help but think that he should just start wearing short sleeve t-shirts already, but he would never say that.

“Hey, Jeonghan, how are you?” Minghao replied politely, unsure of the boundaries and what’s still considered too much or too little between the two.

Jeonghan just smiled and grabbed his hand, yanking him up from the picnic table. “Pleasantries aren’t necessary, Minghao, we’re friends now. Feel free to call me an ugly dumbass for all I care. I’m taking you somewhere very important to me, not necessarily a secret place, but an important place nonetheless. I feel the most at home here, and I really hope I’m right in thinking that you’ll respect the space I’m about to show you.” They had been walking as Jeonghan was talking, and the words went in one ear and out the other as Minghao was focused on their hands. Their hands that were still together. The hand that Jeonghan never dropped.

What was the purpose? Was Jeonghan solely holding his hand to be able to easily drag him around? Did Jeonghan just not realize they were still holding hands? Should Minghao bring it up? Should he slightly shake the other’s hand off or would that be offensive?

“Minghao? You okay?” Jeonghan asked, a worried expression on his face. Minghao hadn’t noticed they were already at a stoplight in the city, waiting for the small walk icon to appear on the screen.

He smiled and nodded. “Yeah, yeah I’m fine, I’m sorry if I worried you…” He rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand, the one _not_ still clutched by Jeonghan.

They once more started on their way as the walk icon turned green, and Minghao isn’t sure he’s ever moved this fast unless he was late for a class or something. He secretly hoped they would arrive at their destination soon, but Jeonghan had the biggest smile on his face and their hands were still laced together and Minghao thought maybe, just maybe, the really long walk wasn’t too unbearable.

Faces and store fronts passed as they finally stopped in front of a small door. Glancing up it just looked like an old building, and Minghao was beginning to wonder if he should’ve trusted Jeonghan so quick. He should’ve dropped his location to Mingyu before he left, but it was too late for that now.

Jeonghan dropped Minghao’s hand in favor of rummaging through his keyring, looking for the proper key for the building, Minghao assumed. When he found the proper one, he inserted it into the lock and finally let them both inside. The building was actually the exact opposite of what he had been expecting, clean and relatively fresh. Jeonghan reattached his hand to Minghao’s and pulled him towards a stairwell. Minghao was still confused, but he went with it.

They arrived on the third floor and Jeonghan unlocked yet another door, letting Minghao inside first. The place was small, one room with what was probably a bathroom. Minghao wasn’t interested in the size at all, but rather the large-ish window that allowed an abundance of light to spill into the room. There was a table in the middle covered in paper, both flat and balled up, watercolor paint strewn about, paint brushes equally as scattered.

“Where are we?” Minghao asked slowly, moving towards the table. He took his time going over all of the different pages that were visible, from simple patterns to full blown room layout sketches, watercolor splashes scattered around on furniture and rugs.

“This is my… Studio? Of sorts anyway…” He replied, gaze moving between the floor and Minghao taking in all of his work. “It’s small and has no kitchen which is kind of a bummer when I’m here really late at night but… It works.”

“It’s wonderful. I think it’s perfect,” Hao replied, going back to the designs on the table. He found one covered in peach and aqua splashes and held it up, looking at Jeonghan. “Is this the one you were telling me about yesterday? It’s beautiful.”

Jeonghan flushed and finally moved to meet Minghao at the table. He took the sheet from Minghao’s hands. “Yeah, it is. I didn’t think you were actually listening… Most people just nod and smile when they feel it’s necessary. How much did you actually listen?”

“I listened to all of it. Every single word,” Minghao responded, glancing at Jeonghan to make sure he realized the amount of honesty the words held. He guessed by the spreading red on the boy’s cheeks that the sentiment was passed correctly.

“Uh… Anyway, I guess I just wanted to show you but um… Yeah, we can go now, there’s no reason to stay,” Jeonghan said, putting the room plan down and grabbing Minghao’s wrist.

“No! We can’t leave yet, we just got here! Show me your supplies, tell me about how you get your ideas, I want to listen!” Minghao pleaded, genuinely hoping for Jeonghan to allow him to stay.

“Are you sure? We really don’t have to, I don’t want you to get bored… At least share something with me, then,” Jeonghan reasoned. Minghao wasn’t sure _why_ he had to share something too, all he really had was his flowers and the little bit of dance he liked doing, it wasn’t much to offer.

“I don’t know Jeonghan, I don’t really do much…” He trailed off, hoping the other would get the hint, but the hopeful look on his face was enough to cure any ailment Minghao could think of. He sighed, “fine, I’ll share something. I don’t know what but I’ll figure that out when the time comes because you’re going first.”

Jeonghan smirked in return. “Joke’s on you, you’ve already seen everything. There isn’t really a whole lot I can show you, it’s not like watercolor paint is some crazy new technology.”

Minghao slightly cursed in his head, what was he going to do? He couldn’t exactly dance in a room this size, no matter how much he would prefer to do that. All that he had left was the flower thing, but he didn’t want to scare Jeonghan away, not when they had just started talking.

“Okay, okay, fine. I dance, but there’s no way I’m doing that in here, so I guess there’s only one other thing I have, but it isn’t really something I can… Show you? It’s just a lot of talking…” Minghao trailed off, still silently hoping Jeonghan would decide he didn’t want to hear it.

A slight nod and small smile from the blonde, sadly, stated otherwise.

“Wow you’re really making me do this, huh? I really like flowers. Like, I l-love flowers. They’re possibly my favorite thing in the whole world, not only are they beautiful but they have a whole language behind them, y’know? I actually like to assign flowers to the people I have in my life but it’s kind of silly and… Yeah. There’s that, I guess, do you want to go get some food or something?”

“That’s actually really neat, Hao, but I won’t make you share anymore if you don’t want to. Food sounds great.” Minghao’s whole mood flipped on its head when he heard the single syllable leave Jeonghan’s mouth.

After lunch, the two had talked for hours on end in the park, about everything from favorite colors to who would be a better dolphin trainer. Minghao had laughed almost as much as when he was with his friends, and he swore his heart soared every single time Jeonghan giggled or lightly smacked his arm to get him to shut up.

By the time Minghao had finally arrived home after retrieving his missing notes and going over information with a classmate, the sun had begun to set over the city. He heated up some leftovers from the fridge and snuggled up next to Mingyu, who was watching some show Minghao really did not care about in the slightest. He felt his happiest as he ate and absorbed his boyfriend’s warmth and laughter.

The day had passed far too quickly and extremely slowly at the same time as they talked about all the different things they loved. Jeonghan’s friendship was fresh and new, something Minghao felt he needed.  
_Periwinkle._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW OKAY so this took a long time and it isnt even that long im ???? so sorry,
> 
> while writing i listened to a mix of director's cut and my minghao spotify playlist just in case anyone wanted to know... (side note WHEN will director's cut be on spotify... pledis im waiting)
> 
> what did you guys think of thanks bc i actually woke up at 4 am and sobbed for two whole hours about it.... i also sobbed while listening to falling for u over and over and staring at pictures of hao so basically dont trust me to wake up at 4 am or i wont sleep again until almost 7
> 
> i really hope you enjoyed this chapter even if it doesnt seem too much longer.... tell me what you think so far and talk to me on twitter @adoreknk !!! i would love to try being friends over there :')
> 
> for anyone interested in my minghao playlist just dm me on twitter and i'll happily share the link, its just a bunch of good songs i associate with him :')
> 
> thank you so much for reading i'll have more soon!!


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